Sylvania



w. J. R GAN DRAFT GEAR Filed May 9, 1923 Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,641,456 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. REGAN, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCCON WAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

DRAFT GEAR.

Application filed May 9, 1923. Serial No. 637,808.

My invention relates to draft gear for railway cars, and has for its objectto provide a strong, simple, efiicient and easily manufactured mechanism which is well adapted for application to passenger cars and for the ei'uployment of cushioning de vices of the friction type.

A principal feature of the invention, gen orally stated, involves the employment, in

combination, of a yoke device formed with a casing adapted to cooperate with friction elements and having forwardly extending spaced arms integrally united to said casing,

. a car coupler interposed between said arms and longitudinally movable with respect thereto and adapted to be assembled with and disassembled from said yoke device by being moved in the direction of length of the latter, a follower movably mounted between the said arms and adapted to be actuated by the coupler, and a removable key operatively connecting said coupler and yoke device for transmitting draft strains from the former to the latter, the said arms of the yoke device being of less transverse width than the forward end of the casing,

whereby follower stops carried by the car.

may engage the said follower in transversely overlapping relation to the forward end of the casing. i

A further feature of the invention consists in constructing a draft gear with a yoke device having a friction casing and a plurality of spaced slotted arms integrally united to the casing and extending forwardly therefrom, and in combining therewith by means of a vertically extending key a car coupler which is pivotally and longi tudinally movable with respect to the yoke device, the said key extending into the slots of the said arms and being adapted to transmit draft strains from the coupler to the yoke device, and a follower movably mounted between said arms and havingstop engaging portions projecting beyond the latter.

Other features of invention residing in:

embodying the invention, the stationary parts of the car with which it is associated being illustrated in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the draft car being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a portion of the forward end of the mechanism.

Figure l is a detail side elevation of a portion of the mechanism toward the forward end thereof.

In the drawings 1 indicates the stem of a car coupler, and 2 is the preferred form of the yoke device. These parts are operatively connected by a vertically extending key 3 through which draft or pulling strains are communicated from the coupler to the yoke device.

The yoke device 2, which it is desirable to form as a single casting, is preferably pro vided with a hollow casing 4 which may advantageously be closed at its rear end.

so as to cooperate directly with follower stops or draft lugs 5 rigidly mounted upon the inner faces of the center sills or draft sills 6 of the car. This yoke device may be made of any desired form and size suitable for receiving and cooperating with springs and friction elements housed thereby, the draft gear members, which are operatively interposed between the rear end of the casing 4 and the forward follower 7 in a well known manner, being diagrammatically indicated by the diagonal dotted lines 8.

Extending forwardly from the casing 4 and integrally united thereto are a pair of spaced arms 9 adapted to receive between them the rear end of the coupler stem 1, which latter is adapted to force the follower 7 rearwardly during a buffing operation. The arms 9 are of less width than the forward end of the casing 4, thereby permitting the forward follower stops or draft lugs 10 carried by the car to engage portions of the follower 7 projecting transversely beyond the arms 9 of the yoke de vice in overlapping relation to the forward end of the casing 4. It will be perceived that this arrangement is very advantageous in that it provides eflicient means for preventing the draft gear from being pulled from the car in the event of any failure of the elements of the cushioning mechanism'housed within the casing.

The arms 9 of the yoke device are formed with vertically alined longitudinally we tending slots '11 for receiving the key 3 and permitting it to travel when the coupler performs a buffing operation. The slots '11 are preferably widened from their forward ends rearwardly, as indicated at 12, thus enabling the key 3 and likewise the coupler 1 through whichit passes to swing laterally or turn pivotally wit-h respect to the yoke device 2 when the car is upon curved track. The key slot 13 at the rear end of the con- 15, pler for the reception of the key 3 preferably corresponds to the cross sectional form of said key.

f The arms 9 of the yoke device are integrally'united at opposite sides in advance of the laterally projecting portions of the ffollower 7 by means of tie members 14, the rear edges or faces of said tie members being in spaced relation to the follower and to the forward end of the casing 4i so as to afford suitable openings for the facile introduction into'the casing of the elements cooperating 'with the latter and housed thereby. The arms 9 are preferably provided upon their inner faces in advance oi the casing l and in spaced relation thereto with stop shoulders 15 for engaging the forward face of the follower 7 to limit the movement of said follower away from the'casing. Very simple means are thus provided for mainjtaining the springs and friction elements in proper assembled relation within the casing 4 when the coupler 1 is disconnected from the yoke device. The assembly and disassembly ofthe coupler and yoke device are 40 veryreadily effected by a relative longitudiflnal movement of these parts.

The removable key 3 may be inserted "either from above or below, preferably-the latter. If, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is '45 inserted from above, it may advantageously be supported by being provided at its upper end with a flange 16 which rests upon the adjacent surface of the upper yoke arm 9. Upward movement of the key may be restrained 'byfa cotter 17. Where'the key is designed to be downwardly removable it is unprovided with the flange 16 and is supported from the yoke by meansof a pin or bolt 18 which passes through slots 19 in lugs 20 formed integral with the lower arm 9 and 'projectin downwardly therefrom on opposite sic es of the slot through which the "keypasses. The slots 19 are elongated longitudinally so as to permit the bolt 18 to travel therein during a buffing operation,

"and said bolt is made of a length sufficient 'to'permit the coupler to execute a pivotal or angling movement, The pin18 may conveniently'be retained in assembled position bymeans o'f'a cotter-21.

the sills of the car.

from retreating because of the engagement of its rear end with the stops 0 carried by During this operation the key 3 travels rearwardly in the slots 11 of the arms of the yoke device, and the bolt- 18 similarly travels rearwardly in the slots 19' of the lugs 20. In draft the follower 7 remains seated upon the forward follower stops 10 while the yoke device is drawn forwardly, thus again effectingthe actuation of the cushioning devices operative'lyinterposed between the follower and .thecasing e. Upon the occurrence of any pivoting or ai'igling of the coupler 1, either in draft or in buffing, the key 3 turns in the slots 12 of the yoke arms, as will be readily understood. I

By my invention a combined draft yoke and 'friition casing may be formed as an' the forward end of saitl casing, a car coupler interposed between and longitudinally mo"- able with respect to said arms, a removable key extending through said. coupler and the slots of said arms for transmitting draft strains'from said coupler to said yoke device, and a follower movably mounted between said, arms and projectinglaterally beyond the same'between said tie members and. the forward end of said casing, said follower and the forward end of said casing being adapted to stand in ovcrla iping relation to follower stops carried by the car for engaging said follower.

2. A draft gear involving a yoke device provided with a casing and having spaced arms integrally united to said casing and extending forwardly therefronna follower movably'mountedbetween said arms, a car coupler interposed between said'arms and movably longggitudmally with respect to said yoke device adapted to actuate said follower, and removable means connecting said coupler and yoke device for transmitting of said casing and integrally uniting said arms in advance of said follower.

A draft gear involving a yoke device provided with a casing and having spaced arms integrally united to said casing and extending forwardly therefrom, a car coupler extending between said arms and movable longitudinally with respect thereto, a follower movably mounted between said arms and having stop engaging portions projecting laterally therefrom, and removable means connecting said coupler and arms for transmitting draft strains from said coupler to said arms, said yoke device being provided in advance of said laterally projecting portions of said follower with tie members integrally uniting said arms, and said yoke device also being provided with means for limiting movement of said follower away from said casing.

l. A draft gear involving a yoke device provided with a casing and having spaced arms integrally united to said casing and extending forwardly therefrom, said arms being formed with alined key receiving slots spaced from the forward end of said casing and being integrally united at opposite sides by tie members which terminate sufficiently in advance of the rear ends of said slots in said arms to permit draft gear elements to be introduced into the casing through the space between said tie bars and the adjacent end of the casing, a car coupler interposed between said arms and longitudinally movable with respect thereto, said coupler having a key receiving slot therein, a vertically dispos d key extending into said slots for transmitting draft strains from said coupler to said yoke device, and a follower movably mounted between said arms and projecting transversely beyond the latter between said casing and said tie members.

5. A draft gear involving a yoke device provided with a casing and having spaced arms integraliy united to said casing and extending forwardly therefrom, said arms being integrallv united at opposite sides by tie members spaced forwardly from said casing and being formed with vertically alined key receiving slots which are wider at their rear ends than at their forward ends, a car coupler interposed between said arms and longitudinally movable with respect thereto, said coupler being formed with a key receiving slot, a key extending into said slots of the coupler and said yoke device for transmitting draft strains from said coupler to said yoke device, said key being adapted to travel rearwardly in the slots of said arms during a balling movement of said coupler and being adapted to change its angular position in said last named slots when said coupler executes a lateral swinging movement, and a follower movably mounted between said arms in advance of said casing, said yoke device and follower being provided with overlapping portions adapted to limit forward movement of said follower away from said casing.

6. A draft gear involving a yoke device provided with a casing and having spaced arms integrally united to said casing and extending forwardly therefrom, a car coupler interposed between said arms and pivotally and longitudinally movable with respect thereto, a key extending through said, coupler and said yoke device for transn'iitting draft strains from said coupler to said yoke device, and a follower movably mounted between said arms in advance of said casing, said yoke device being provided in advance of said follower and spaced therefrom with tie membees integrally uniting said arms.

7. A draft gear involving a yoke device having vertically spaced slotted arms, a car coupler interposed between and pivotally and longitudinally movable with respect to said arms, a vertically disposed key passing through said coupler and extending into the slots of said arms, said key being adapted to pivotally connect said coupler to said arms and to transmit draft strains from said coupler to said arms, and means for maintaining said key in assembled position, said means comprising a plurality of transversely spaced lugs attached to and projecting downwardly from the lower of said arms and adapted to receive said key between them, said lugs being provided with longitudinally extending slots adapted to receive a bolt and permit travel of the latter, and a bolt passing through said key and the slots in said lugs.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

WILLIAM J. REGAN. 

